Where does “metro” come from?

metro (Tagalog) comes from English metro, from French métro, from French métropolitain, from Latin mētropolītānus, from Ancient Greek μητροπολίτης, from Ancient Greek μητρόπολις, from Ancient Greek πόλις, from Proto-Hellenic ptólis — fortification, city.

metro (Tagalog): meter

Definitions

  1. meter

Ancestry of “metro”, step by step

metro traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English metro

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmetroAn underground railway; A train that runs on such...
2Frenchmétrometro; subway US, underground UK, Tube UK
3Frenchmétropolitainmetropolitan; subway, underground; Person from...
4Latinmētropolītānusmetropolitan
5Ancient Greekμητροπολίτηςmetropolitan
6Ancient Greekμητρόπολιςmother-state; one's mother-city, mother country,...
7Ancient Greekπόλιςcity; a whole country, as dependent on and called...
8Proto-Hellenicptóliscity
9Proto-Indo-EuropeantpólHis
10Proto-Indo-EuropeantpelH-fortification, city

via Spanish metro

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishmetrometer; measuring tape; ruler
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tpelH-